Snapchat Spends Black Friday Serving HBO Ads to Every User on its Service

Snapchat users emerging from their tryptophan haze this morning will see a promoted story from HBO with a message telling Black Friday shoppers to stay home and watch “Game of Thrones” instead. The ad is the first since Snapchat began serving ads to go out to every user in the country.

The ad can be found in the “stories” section of the app where publishing and media partners host channels and shows. HBO’s channel will also be labeled as an ad, it will have a tile with a cover image pointing to the promoted story, and people click the tile to watch it.

Until now, advertisers could only buy short, interruptive video ads inside stories that are created by publishers like BuzzFeed, Hearst, 21st Century Fox, NBCUniversal, and other media partners. Advertisers typically use Snapchat’s automated platform to buy the ads inside the stories section, which allows them to target users based on age, location, gender, interests and other characteristics.